Wednesday, December 31, 2014

The São Silvestre De Luanda 10K running race is one of the most celebrated and traditional athletic events held in Angola. Occurring on December 31 each year in the Angolan capital, Luanda, the race is an international sporting event that promotes athletics in Angola in its purest essence.

Patterned under the race of the same name in Brazil, the São Silvestre was first held in 1954 and featured only Angolan runners until 1964 when recognized world athletes were invited to participate. Consisting a plot of 10 Kilometers, the initial aims of the race were to equally celebrate one of the Catholic's Holy Day's of Obligation as well as to prove international athletic character.Recognized athletes from Ethiopia, Portugal, South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe annually participate in the running event. (Sao Silvestre website)

Friday, December 19, 2014

Angolans only began celebrating Christmas after the arrival of
Christian Missionaries in the 15th century. Presently, after more than 500
years of Christianity and colonization followed by over 30 years of
independence, the celebration of Christmas has undergone various influences –
from traditional African culture, popular Catholic traditions from the previous Portuguese colonization and from other
Christian sects as well as secularism.

Christmas for most of the people in the countryside is the
most-awaited feast; the preparation is done both materially and spiritually.
It’s always preceded by spiritual exercises and pilgrimages to the their local churches for the 'ceia'; church service. Materially, families usually save some money during the whole year to buy
special foods for this feast – rice, pasta and other industrialized foods. In
agricultural communities, some animals are reared to be slaughtered at
Christmas – such as cows, goats, and chickens.

In the cities, Christmas preparations are more organized and
better structured. Spiritually it is notable in the participation of the
faithful in retreats and preparation for the baptism of children. More zealous
Christians go to church services at midnight on December 24th and on Christmas Day. Those who miss the chance to go to
church, either because of work or perhaps over-indulgence in festivities, end
up viewing the live telecast church services on the National Television Channel.

Since Christmas is also an occasion for a family feast, it is common to find homes filled with parents and grandparents, children and grand-children. Like
in the countryside, unexpected guests are most welcome. There is room for
everybody; this comes from the deep-rooted African tradition of hospitality.

At the ceiachurch service at midnight on December 24th, urban Angolan families eat cozido de bacalhau, or cooked cold fish, with many vegetables. They also eat turkey with rice and drink table wine and other drinks. After the ceia they exchange gifts and eat handmade cakes and dried fruits, including grapes with which everybody makes wishes.Specifically, at Christmas urban Angolans celebrate the end of the year and the coming New Year with an Angolan Christmas tradition of the eating of‘bolo-rei’(translated ‘king-cake’); a sweet, Portuguese cake. (from La Salette website)

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Uíge (pronounced:
"Weej") is one of the eighteen provinces in Angola and is located in
the northwestern part of the country. Its capital city is of the same name,
Uige.

During the
Middle Ages, the Uige Province was the heartland of the Kongo Kingdom. The kings
lived in the city of Mbanza-Kongo which had a population of about 50,000 in the
16th century and ruled with great authority in the region for several
centuries.

The knowledge
of metallurgy among the Bakongo was renowned as they became famous as iron blacksmiths;
their king was even called the “Blacksmith King”. The arrival of Portuguese
priests who lived at the king’s court and taught religion as well as literacy
first strengthened their reign; their relationship with the Portuguese
strongholds of the region was rather cordial and peaceful. Things changed
incisively when the Portuguese started in the 19th century to conquer and
occupy the territory of what at present is Angola..

In the early
part of 20th century the province was on a economic decline due to its
inhospitable terrain and poor accessibility.The situation changed entirely when the
Portuguese discovered that soil and climate were favorable to coffee
production. The Uíge province (then called "district") became
Angola’s major center for coffee production in the 1950s. While part of the
production came from European (mostly Portuguese) owned plantations, most
producers were Bakongo smallholders. In times gone by, Uíge had the honour of being “the land
of the red beans.” It was the leading coffee bean production area, when Angola
was the fourth biggest producer in the world.Its market centre
of Uige town, the district capital, prospered and was designated a city in
1956.

To encourage
the principle of national integration with Portugal, many towns in Angola were
renamed during Portuguese colonial rule, including the provincial capital of
Uíge town, which was renamed Vila Marechal Carmona ("Marshal
Carmona Town") after Marshal Óscar Carmona, the former President of
Portugal, later simplified as Carmona.

Beginning in October 2004
and continuing into 2005, Uige Province was the center of an outbreak of
Marburg hemorrhagic fever, a disease closely related to Ebola. Now under control,
there were 374 cases with 88 deaths. According to the UN and was, at
the time, the world's worst epidemic of any kind of hemorrhagic fever.

One of the natural beauty features of Uige is the Grutas do Nzenzo (the Nzenzo Grottos, one
of the “7 Natural Wonders of Angola”).The Grutas are inside a strangely-shaped mountain with pointed stones
that give it a somewhat solemn air. The term
“Nzenzo” means “spring” or “source” of water since there is actually a spring inside
the grottoes, flowing down from the cave roof at the large 'mouth' entrance. The internal rocky labyrinth is composed of various layers of stone, each overlapping the one below, giving it unmistakable rare beauty due to its distinct emerald
green colors. (TAAG Austral Magazine, Wikipedia)

What is the CEML Hospital?

CEML (Centro Evangelico de Medicina do Lubango) is a church-related healthcare institution in the southern Angolan city of Lubango which provides medical services for an estimated 50% of Angolans who currently have no alternative coverage.